Pitch shifts and song structure indicate male quality in the dawn chorus of black-capped chickadees

Christie, Peter J.; Mennill, Daniel J.; Ratcliffe, Laurene M.

doi:10.1007/s00265-003-0711-3

Cited by 142 publications

(146 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…It is also possible that, if singing under strong muscular contraction is difficult, other song traits could be affected (e.g., temporal accuracy, loudness), and high frequency could thus be an amplifier handicap of male vocal ability. In support of this view, there is evidence that singing higher-frequency song types disturbs bout patterns in the great tit (Parus major, Lambrechts 1997) and that shifting to higher song frequencies decreases note loudness and length in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus, Christie et al 2004). Such indicator mechanisms can function equally in mammals and other vertebrates, but in those taxa, it would be opposed by the possibly stronger signal value of the size-related lowfrequency vocalizations.…”

Section: Song Frequencymentioning

confidence: 76%

Female and male serins (Serinus serinus) respond differently to derived song traits

Cardoso

Mota

Depraz

2007

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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We tested if male or female behavior towards manipulated song indicates intra-or inter-sexual selection of two characteristics of serin song that are extreme and evolutionarily derived in this species: high frequency and fast syllable rate. In a first experiment, we monitored vocal responses and attendance to song playbacks. Female behavior indicated a preference for high-frequency song and suggested an aggressive function for fast syllable rates, as fast songs inhibited vocal response. Males did not show discrimination of frequency or syllable rate with this experimental design. The second experiment used a simple approach/no approach design, and in this experiment, males showed stronger discrimination between stimuli than did females. Therefore, sex differences in discrimination appear not to result from differences in perceptual abilities but from differences in the context of stimulus presentation. The second experiment also supported a role of song frequency in female choice, as the effect of frequency was limited to females: males did not respond differently to song frequency and approached high-frequency songs less than females did. Results of this experiment also supported an aggressive function for fast syllable rates, as the effect of fast songs did extend to male behavior. Taken together, our results indicate that the high frequency and fast syllable rate of serin song cannot result from a single selection process: while high frequency may have evolved by inter-sexual selection, syllable rate provokes a pattern of response that is more consistent with intra-sexual selection.

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Section: Song Frequencymentioning

confidence: 76%

Female and male serins (Serinus serinus) respond differently to derived song traits

Cardoso

Mota

Depraz

2007

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…In a number of songbird species, dominant males, which enjoy greater reproductive success, produce more consistent songs. Dominant male tropical mockingbirds produce more consistent syllable structure than subordinate males ; dominant black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus, maintain a more consistent frequency ratio and relative amplitude between the fee and bee notes of their songs compared with subordinates (Christie et al, 2004;Hoeschele et al, 2010); and dominant great tits show less drift in inter-phrase interval during song strophes (Lambrechts and Dhondt, 1986). Finally, male great reed warblers, Acrocephalus arundinaceus, with more consistent (and longer) whistle note durations have larger harems (Wegrzyn et al, 2010).…”

Section: Functional (Behavioral) Studies Of Vocal Consistencymentioning

confidence: 96%

Integrating perspectives on vocal performance and consistency

Sakata

Vehrencamp

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARY Recent experiments in divergent fields of birdsong have revealed that vocal performance is important for reproductive success and under active control by distinct neural circuits. Vocal consistency, the degree to which the spectral properties (e.g. dominant or fundamental frequency) of song elements are produced consistently from rendition to rendition, has been highlighted as a biologically important aspect of vocal performance. Here, we synthesize functional, developmental and mechanistic (neurophysiological) perspectives to generate an integrated understanding of this facet of vocal performance. Behavioral studies in the field and laboratory have found that vocal consistency is affected by social context, season and development, and, moreover, positively correlated with reproductive success. Mechanistic investigations have revealed a contribution of forebrain and basal ganglia circuits and sex steroid hormones to the control of vocal consistency. Across behavioral, developmental and mechanistic studies, a convergent theme regarding the importance of vocal practice in juvenile and adult songbirds emerges, providing a basis for linking these levels of analysis. By understanding vocal consistency at these levels, we gain an appreciation for the various dimensions of song control and plasticity and argue that genes regulating the function of basal ganglia circuits and sex steroid hormones could be sculpted by sexual selection.

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“…The first note within the fee-bee song (i.e., fee note) is sung at a higher frequency than the second note (i.e., bee note). As males shift the absolute frequency of their songs, the relative pitch interval between the two notes remains consistent (Weisman et al, 1990) and dominant males are better able to maintain this consistency as they frequency shift their songs (Christie et al, 2004).…”

Section: Perception Of Abstract Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Categories, concepts, and calls: Auditory perceptual mechanisms and cognitive abilities across different types of birds

Hahn

Guillette

Hoeschele

et al. 2013

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Although involving different animals, preparations, and objectives, our laboratories (Sturdy's and Cook's) are mutually interested in category perception and concept formation. The Sturdy laboratory has a history of studying perceptual categories in songbirds, while Cook laboratory has a history of studying abstract concept formation in pigeons. Recently, we undertook a suite of collaborative projects to combine our investigations to examine abstract concept formation in songbirds, and perception of songbird vocalizations in pigeons. This talk will include our recent findings of songbird category perception, songbird abstract concept formation (same/different task), and early results from pigeons' processing of songbird vocalizations in a same/different task. Our findings indicate that (1) categorization in birds seems to be most heavily influenced by acoustic, rather than genetic or experiential factors (2) songbirds treat their vocalizations as perceptual categories, both at the level of the note and species/whole call, (3) chickadees, like pigeons, can perceive abstract, same-different relations, and (4) pigeons are not as good at discriminating chickadee vocalizations as songbirds (chickadees and finches). Our findings suggest that although there are commonalities in complex auditory processing among birds, there are potentially important comparative differences between songbirds and non-songbirds in their treatment of certain types of auditory objects.

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Pitch shifts and song structure indicate male quality in the dawn chorus of black-capped chickadees

Cited by 142 publications

References 39 publications

Female and male serins (Serinus serinus) respond differently to derived song traits

Female and male serins (Serinus serinus) respond differently to derived song traits

Integrating perspectives on vocal performance and consistency

Categories, concepts, and calls: Auditory perceptual mechanisms and cognitive abilities across different types of birds

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